


The Darkness Before Dawn

by MarshallDFaythe



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Nightmares, Mentions of PTSD, Multi, Tiny bit of Angst, but mostly cotton candy fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23761837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarshallDFaythe/pseuds/MarshallDFaythe
Summary: Set post Advent Children, Cloud is having a hard time with therapy. His nightmares are getting intense again as he has to dig through his past. However, he has Barret, Tifa, Denzel and Marlene there to remind him he's got a family. That he isn't alone anymore and they can make it through this together. Slightly angsty in some portions, but mostly tooth rotting fluff featuring my fave trio.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife/Barret Wallace
Comments: 4
Kudos: 55





	The Darkness Before Dawn

Vivid nightmares were a symptom of PTSD, so he was told. PTSD stood for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental illness he suffered from and had been diagnosed with by a licensed professional. Cloud was told going back through some of the worst moments of his life might make nightmares spring back up, or it might make them more intense at first. He knew it was necessary for recovery, but it still sucked to wake in the middle of the night from cold sweats and desperately try not to wake his sleeping partners.

After a particularly difficult session, he had the worst nightmare he'd yet endured. The blonde woke gasping, beads of sweat collecting on his forehead and neck. It was as if he could feel the heat of Nibleheim's fire inside his body. Tifa and Barret were both heavy sleepers, bless them. They slept on despite the jolting motion he had made and the awful gasp that tore from his throat. Cloud took a moment to gather his thoughts, sweeping a trembling hand through sweat-slicked hair. Normally, he would force himself to lay in bed beside them. Not tonight. Tonight, he needed something to take the edge off. He needed to process.

As quietly and nimbly as he physically could, Cloud untangled himself from the bedsheets and climbed over Tifa's sleeping figure. She made a soft noise, rolling onto her side to face where he had just been sleeping. It was as if she could feel his absence, one delicate yet strong hand rested in the warm spot his body had made. He caught the slight smile bloom over her lips and his heart jumped. Cloud hated leaving the bed like this. It always reminded him of last year, when their relationship had been so strained and he was absent nearly all the time. Cloud breathed a light sigh, slowly padding down the stairs. He paid attention to every noise he made, not wanting to disturb either of them. Barret had spent nearly all night talking with Marlene, as per her request. Now that he was home full time again, she didn't want to miss a single second with her Dad.

Downstairs, the bar was practically silent. Nowadays, that was a rarity. Seventh Heaven really took off once the Geostigma had been cured and patrons from far and wide came to Edge to see the lovely barmaid working. The thought used to make Cloud jealous, but now it just made him want to be deserving of being one of the men she shared her life with. He carefully opened the liquor cabinet, searching for anything hard enough to fog up his mind. Just a few minutes of buzzed bliss, that was all he needed. He found a bottle of Tifa's favorite mix and quickly snatched the bottle. However, he underestimated how hard his hands were trembling still. The bottle slipped to the floor and smashed into the ground. Cloud could only sigh. This was just  _ not _ his night, apparently. The sound of heavy footsteps seconds later made the blonde chew his lip as he swept the broken glass up carefully.

''The hell are you doing down here, Blondie?'' Barret's voice was still thick with sleep as he rubbed his eye.

''Breaking bottles,'' was Cloud's eloquent answer.

''Still a smart ass at four in the mornin'. I meant whatcha doing out of bed? Scared Tifa half to death.'' He slowly folded his arms. Cloud entertained the thoughts regarding Barret's new metallic arm, and how different it was to see him folding his arms instead of defaulting to resting his flesh arm on his hip. Something about it made his chest swell. He knew how much it was killing Barret to have something so bulky and dangerous on his arm now that the world had little need for that sort of violence. Being home full time with Marlene and Denzel meant a softer, more gentle Barret.

''Nightmares.'' Cloud responded again, Mako blue eyes fixated on getting every piece of glass off the wooden bar floor.

''Didja tell your therapist about 'em?''

''She said it was normal. Part of the recovery process, I guess.'' Barret made a hum of acknowledgment, stepping forward and taking the broom from his lover's hands, ''I got it.''

''Damn near dropped it four times. Take a seat, Cloud. Before you hurt yourself.'' Cloud nodded. Voices in his head were angry, howling at him for letting Barret see him so weak.  _ I'm not alone, remember? That's what they're here for,  _ he tried to remind himself. He took a seat on one of the stools, clasping his hands together to try and keep them from trembling so hard.

''Sorry.'' His whisper was soft, quiet. Cloud was horrible at communicating and therapy still hadn't helped him much in that department yet. He wanted to  _ try _ . He wanted to be better for them.

''Using booze to forget? Sounds like the old Cloud to me. Start wakin' us up.'' Barret gently let the broom rest against the wall as he dumped the remains of broken glass into the trash can. For bigger pieces he said 'to Hell with it', in typical Barret fashion and just picked them up with his metal hand.

''You were both so tired. I didn't want to disturb you.'' Cloud's eyes were trained on the bartop counter. His flighty attitude had caused them many problems over the last year. He tried so damn hard not to regress. Was he failing them again?

''Let me tell you somethin','' the heavily muscled man fetched a rag and began to clean the alcohol off the floor, ''if little Marlene comes crying to me in the middle of the night from a nightmare, what do you expect me to do...huh?''

''Ah...'' Cloud watched him with a soft expression.

''I ain't leaving her to cry by herself. I'm waking my ass up and I'm going to sit up with her until she feels better. That same shit applies to you and Tifa. You're my partner, ain't you?'' Barret left the rag to sit for a second as his dark eyes shot up to survey Cloud's reaction.

''Well...yeah. I don't know. I guess it's just...embarrassing.'' He rubbed his neck with a still shaking hand, refusing to meet Barret's eyes.

''You know what was embarrassing? Remember when I missed Marlene so bad, I called at two in the morning to ask if y'all could have her call when she woke up? Was damn near crying, too. It ain't easy, and I never said it was. But you're in therapy, you're tryin' to get better. So, I don't wanna see you out here at four in the goddamn morning nursing a bottle when you got two people in bed with you. Especially Tifa. I get it, you know. Why you leave when shit gets hard. She doesn't. She takes that shit personal, and it eats away at her.'' Cloud was silent for a long time. He knew. Oh, he knew how much it hurt Tifa. He didn't want to hurt her anymore, which was why he was so terrified of agreeing to let Barret join their relationship. He didn't want to disappoint or harm anyone else. It was bad enough he was hurting Tifa.

''I'm sorry. I'm trying to get better. I don't want to hurt either of you, please know that.''

''I do know that, Cloud. Never would've wanted to be romantic with you if you did. This ain't just about Tifa and I, you know? It's about you, too. Don't want to see you sitting down here alone again, drinking all night. We're here for ya...so take advantage of that. Some people ain't got no one to talk to. You got two people right here who love ya. So, do somethin' about that.'' There was a large but gentle hand cupping Cloud's cheek suddenly. It took everything in him not to pull away out of reflex. For a moment, he closed his eyes and leaned into the touch like an alley cat desperate for someone to pet them.

''Four,'' Cloud hummed against the hand holding his cheek.

''What?'' Barret analyzed him curiously, wondering what he meant.

''I have four people who love me.'' This made Barret laugh and he let go of Cloud for a moment to walk around the bar. He reached down and embraced the shaking blonde. Cloud let out a breath he had been holding in, resting his face against Barret's chest.

''Damn right, you do. Forget those kids and they'd sure as shit remind you.'' The laugh Barret made rumbled in his chest. It felt warm and soothing to Cloud, like a lullaby.

''Don't I know it.'' His first laugh of the day resonated between the both of them. Even the touch of his partner's cold metal arm gave Cloud reassurance. He was loved. He was home, he was okay.

''Anyone up for some breakfast?'' A sweet, feminine voice laden with sleep reached Cloud's ears. Tifa gave them a warm smile, relieved to see things were okay. There was still fear in her heart, still anxiety attached to Cloud's side of the bed being empty.

''Hell yeah. Can you make those, uh...what are they called again?'' Barret rubbed his scruffy chin in thought.

''Talking about my eggs in a basket?''

''The eggs inside toast? Yeah. Those are damn good.''

''You got it!'' She gave Barret a warm smile, heading over to the kitchen area of the bar. Cloud's eyes were soft as he watched Tifa go, dressed in one of his shirts and wearing a thin pair of shorts. She was beautiful.

''Phew, the smell in here could knock a man out! Did you break open one of my bottles?'' Tifa peeks in her cabinet, spying one missing.

''Ah....maybe a bit too literally.'' Cloud's lips curled into a slow smile.

''No harm done, I'll make another.'' He wanted to tell her he appreciated that. Cloud wanted to say how much he loved her, and that above all else he was  _ sorry. _

''Tifa....''

''Don't worry about it! I'm sure it was a bad nightmare....'' Her carmine eyes cast a soft look his way. Cloud nodded to confirm as Barret sat beside him.

''Sorry I left. I wasn't gonna leave the bar, I promise.'' He cleared his throat, the cadence of his voice tinged with fear.

''Cloud,'' Tifa laughed, the sound musical, ''it's okay if you leave the bar. It's okay if you take a walk, or a ride on the bike. Just...come back. Don't spend weeks or days out of our sight, you know? And you hate being alone, so I worry. You can talk to us about anything.''

''I know. I'll work on getting better about it. I can't promise I'll be perfect...but...I promise I'll try.''

''I know you will.'' She cast him a smile too bright to be Tifa Lockhart at four thirty in the morning. Cloud wanted to tell her how much he loved her. How wonderful she was, with her eyes warm and her voice gentle, even after all he put her through. She made him want to be better. Barret, too with his encouraging words and neverending support. He was so damn lucky to have found a family again. This time, he wasn't going to let anything or anyone rip them from him again. Especially not himself.

''I love you.'' It was his favorite thing to say to them, because he said it so sparsely and so softly. Both of his partners would often stop whatever they were doing to be positive they heard right before responding. True to the pattern, Tifa's hands went still on her skillet and the smile spreading across her face was clear as day.

''I love you too, Cloud.'' She hummed, her voice honey sweet. The trio fell into a few moments of silence as Barret went to go aid Tifa with breakfast. The two of them were fun together. Cloud loved watching them from the bar as he rested his cheek on his hand. Barret teased Tifa about using too much pepper on the eggs, and she hip checked him with enough force to bowl the muscular man over. That only made Barret laugh playfully. Moments like this reminded Cloud that the quiet, domestic life was something he needed just as much as the delivery job that sated his wanderlust.

Cloud was lost in thought for a little while, and before he knew it he was presented with a plate of eggs, toast and bacon.

''Eat up!'' Tifa instructed in that motherly tone of hers. Taking care of people was always her specialty.

''Yes, ma'am.'' Cloud nodded, picking up his fork and realizing he had finally stopped shaking.

''Do you want to talk about it?'' She tilted her head, resting a hand over his. Cloud looked up at her, his mouth open as he was about to snag a bite of the toast. He closed his mouth, thinking on it for a moment.

''How about tonight? After Marlene and Denzel go to sleep?'' Tifa brightened immediately, and Cloud felt his heart skip a beat. Barret eyed the two of them with a warm gaze. He was proud to see Cloud putting forth the effort to do something difficult, but necessary.

After breakfast, Cloud helped Tifa with dishes and got ready to do his afternoon deliveries. The heaviness on his heart had lessened quite a bit, letting him breathe and manage a smile. Marlene and Denzel woke around their usual time, about seven in the morning. Both of them were excited to see him, but Denzel would always light up just for him. Cloud ruffled his hair before kneeling down.

''You coming with me today?''

''Yeah! Can't wait!'' Denzel's face lit up and Cloud smiled.

''Remember the rules, yeah?''

''Hold on tight, stay close, shout if I notice anything weird.''

''Perfect.'' Cloud slowly stood back up, offering the young boy his hand. Denzel took the hand of his hero without hesitation. Cloud exchanged kisses with Tifa and Barret, gripping Denzel's small hand in his firmly.

''Be back soon!'' Denzel waved to everyone excitedly.

''Be safe you two!'' Tifa smiled. Cloud lead Denzel outside of the bar by the hand, reminding himself that this time, he was strong enough to protect those who mattered. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so, so much for reading!


End file.
